Lenders to fight Treasury over business loan targets

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Britain’s biggest banks are on collision course with the Government today as
ministers try to force HSBC, Barclays and Santander to sign up to
commitments on business lending.

George Osborne and Vince Cable are also expected to raise the prospect of net
lending targets when they meet the bosses of the country’s biggest lenders
at the Treasury this afternoon.

Banks hate such targets because they are calculated after customer repayments
have been taken into account, and reliable customers have been paying off
their loans in record numbers. Banks may further be required to make set
amounts available in different regions